When will Hollywood learn?

Nobody wants to see Basic Instinct 2. This is one of those sequels where you can imagine some movie executive, on his way out the door, green lighted this film as a final stab at his former employers. Like Baby Geniuses 2. Now, you can make an argument for any sequel. The original has a following, people like the story, we can make a quick buck on name recognition, and so on. But Basic Instinct was released 14 years ago. Sharon Stone was a hot NEW star. Joe Eszterhas was a hot writer. Paul Verhoeven was a hot director. Now, only Sharon Stone is involved. In a summary of reviews, the Internet Movie Database pointed out that Kyle Smith of the New York Post described the film as "Botoxic." Touche! BI2 looks like a cry for attention. Hollywood, we want new movies. We've waited long enough.

It's here!!!

Hey look! It's me! Drinking Coffee! How out of the ordinary! MMMMMM Coffee!

new gif coming

oh my gosh! It's almost here!

Goodbye Lisa!

What happens when you take on an American Idol? You get sent home. This week Lisa, who sang a poor version of Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You," was given her walking papers. But the biggest shock this week was Katharine in the bottom three. People, you know the drill. You have to vote! And vote a lot. If you thumb isn’t hurting, you’re not voting enough. And stop voting for Ace. That pretty boy has to go! New week the group is going country...so Kellie and Bucky are safe. Dag gum!
Speaking of country, did anyone see Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector? I’m interested to hear how it is. It looks dumb, but it’s hard to tell if it’s good dumb or bad.

Hey! I'm going to be an animated gif!

For the four of you who read this blog (three of which are probably me) I have some exciting news. I hope you're sitting down. Ready. I'm going to have an animated picture! Sam Castro, our fotogurfer here at the paper, is in the process of making an animated gif for my profile picture. He showed it to me an early rendering and it looks pretty cool! If everything goes as planned, we'll have it up by the end of the week. I know all of you are excited, but I urge you to return to your daily lives and to try and remain calm. It will be hard, but I know you can do it!
TTFN

What the heck was that?

That was the worst American Idol ever, including that episode they brought back all of the bad singers (including William Hung) to shame themselves all over again. I just don't get it? Every single singer had a bad night, including Taylor and Mandisa. The whole time I was wondering... Hey where's Kevin? Kevin would have provided some needed enjoyment. Bad Night!
Bottom three is tough this week, so I'm going with Lisa, Bucky and Ace. As for the one going home, I'm going to say Ace just because I don't like him. Dang pretty boys. But I'm not firm on that one. It's a guess. After this week, I'm about ready to chuck the whole Idol experience.

American Idol tonight.

American Idol is leaving the past behind. Last week, contestants performed songs from the 1950's, with Barry Manilow...that rocked. This week they will perform music of today, with Shakira appearing on Wednesday's show.
To be honest, I'm getting sick of the whole theme show thing. It seemed like a great idea a couple of years ago, but having amateur musicians butcher the same classics over and over and over again has lost its appeal.
How many bad versions of "I Will Always Love You" and "I Can't Help Myself" do we have to hear?
I'm sorry. I'm still a little bitter about Kevin being booted off last week while that no-good layabout Ace is still poluting the television airwaves. I'd rather the show bring back Nikki McKibbin from season one(what Kelly Clarkson has jokingly referred to as Ghetto Idol). At least she had a little umph.
Speaking of McKibbin, I just found out that she has released a CD and has a blog. Both are worth checking out. And so is American Idol, tonight at 7 p.m. on FOX.

Hawthorne Heights rocks!

I am totally into Hawthorne Heights right now. The Ohio group's latest single Saying Sorry , prominently featured on MTV and MTV2 during the 2-3 hours they still play videos really early in the morning, is one heck-of-a catchy tune. To be honest I don't really get emo music. It's like punk music that wants to cry. Usually I'd be all like, 'Dude, cowboy up' but HH has got a great sound. Not as psychotically energetic as Fall Out Boy, and not as bubble-gummy as Simple Plan. absolutepunk.net called these guys "this year's My Chemical Romance." Hawthorne is no MCR, but they are going to make a huge splash this year. PS. Follow the Saying Sorry, off of the group's "If Only You Were Lonely" om Victory Records, link to a free download of Hawthorne Height's latest single on Myspace.com.

The Godfather of Green Bay opens today

The Godfather of Green Bay, a quirky comedy written, produced, and directed by Wisconsin native Pete Schwaba opens this weekend in theaters. The film was shot in Marinette, Wis. and Menominee, Mich. and has had some good buzz from showings at several festivals. It is opening in 14 theaters, including the Marcus Theatre in Sheboygan. So check it out. And if you see it, leave a comment on what you think!

Interesting song from Victory Records

Victory Records has this song, by Straylight Run - Existentialism On Prom Night taken from their self-titled disc, as a free download from its site. It starts off slow, and then builds into an awesome and emotional song. This is a direct link to the song posted on Victory's site. Go to www.victoryrecords.com to find out more.

Not Moby! Tell me it isn't so!

Well, whey you're right 52 percent of the time, you're wrong 48 percent of the time. The sky definitely fell on Chicken Little last night as Kevin, 16, was sent home. I blame myself. This week I didn't vote for him. Last week I called 14 times and he sailed through. I feel like I let Moby down! Well, it's not like he was going to win anyway. But boy did I pick the bottom three or what? Bucky got lucky. If he doesn't shape up, he'll be taking the walk of shame next week. Sorry Kevin, I hate to see you go.
PS this photo is courtesy of the American Idol Website, www.idolonfox.com.

Barry Manilow! Oh My Gosh!

So how much did American Idol rock last night? Barry Manilow! That's about as awesome as sliced bread with diamonds in it. For those of you who are finding this blog by accident, I am not kidding. Barry Manilow rocks, and so did the AI contestants.
First the praise. Taylor, Mandisa, Kellie and Katharine aren't going home anytime soon. They were solid! Even though Taylor kind of phoned this one in, he still rocked the house with his Joe Cocker style.
And I'm going to come right out and say it. I don't like Ace. I know the ladies think he's a looker, but that falsetto has got to go. He's no American Idol. He's not even fit to fill Justin Guarini's shoes!
So here's my bottom three prediction: Bucky, Ace and Lisa ... OK, Kevin (who I commonly refer to as Moby) is probably in the bottom three instead of Ace (mark my words...Ace will be going home), but Moby will be safe.
After a week performance of "Oh Boy," Bucky will be going home.
Tune in to Fox tonight to see if I'm right, and to watch Barry Manilow perform. Eric...out!

American Idol tonight. Who's going home?

Watching American Idol tonight? I am. Who's going home? Tune in tomorrow and I’ll tell you who I think will be taking the walk of shame.

It's a Mad Mad Media baby!

The face of entertainment has completely changed over the last decade. Ten years ago the Internet was in its infancy, DVDs were a novelty, e-mail was not the preferred form of communication and things like text messaging, MP3s, podcasting, streaming audio and video, blogs, E-zines, real simple syndication, file sharing and personalized ringtones weren’t even a possibility.
Ten years ago, cable television was still considered to be a vast wasteland of second-rate programming, and the Big Three networks (and Fox) were vying for most of the television audience (while the soon to be defunct WB and UPN were struggling for a minor share).
Ten years ago the alternative music scene gave way to the rebirth of boy bands. There were CDs and cassette tapes (records were a novelty). CDs cost $15-$19, $13.99 on sale, and consisted of 10-11 songs, 50-percent of which were usually filler. Forget about individual song downloads or file sharing — Napster was still three years away.
Ten years ago American movie audiences were first introduced to Jackie Chan and the phrase “Show Me The Money!” and saw the White House blown to pieces, all while the industry buzzed about James Cameron’s sure-to-be-a-flop, “Titanic.” Ten years ago Reality TV primarily consisted of “Cops,” “America’s Most Wanted,” “The Real World,” “Road Rules” and the news.
Ten years ago, only television and radio were geared up to report “breaking news” and newspapers and magazines reported on the big story.
A lot has happened in the last ten years, and a lot is still going on. At least once a week I will be writing a column on something going on in the media. It may me a movement in the music scene, a movie playing in the area, a new band, a local perspective on a global media issue, and so on.
The best part is, you will all have a chance to participate. If you have an opinion, post a comment. If you think I’m right on, tell me I’m right on. And if you think I’m full of crap, feel free to tell me so (but please be sure to use words like crap, we’re trying to maintain a family-friendly blog here).
The most miraculous thing about the Internet is it connects us. It has allowed us, the media, to reconnect with our readers. So tune in, turn on, and blog out! Before another decade passes you by.